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Paddy Wallace
Patrick Wallace (born 27 August 1979) is an Ireland rugby union player who played for Ireland's national team and played for Ulster. A native of Belfast, he attended Rockport School and Campbell College. He was a member of the Ireland U19 side (which also included Brian O'Driscoll) that lifted the U19 World Cup in 1998. He was a member of the Ireland Grand Slam winning team of 2009. 2001/02 season Wallace burst on to the scene at the beginning of the 2001/02 season putting in a number of top class performances from fullback or out-half for Ulster. His wacky sidesteps and flamboyant goose-steps made him a favourite with the Ravenhill supporters. He soon became a regular and was selected to play for Ireland A against the touring New Zealand All Blacks at Ravenhill. Although Ireland lost 43–30 Wallace put in an extremely accomplished performance as well as kicking 20 points. He was a regular in both the Ulster and Ireland A teams for the remainder of the season, indeed helpin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Campbell College
Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a government funded, selective school. The school is one of a number of schools in the state funded grammar sector in Northern Ireland which can offer paid boarding places to some pupils, typically to be funded by the pupil, although the majority of pupils are day pupils. It is one of the eight schools of Northern Ireland represented on the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and is a member of the Independent Schools Council. Legal status Campbell College is one of very few voluntary grammar schools in Northern Ireland entitled to be classified as a 'Voluntary B' grammar school, where most voluntary grammars within this state sector are 'Voluntary A'. Voluntary grammar schools, though state schools by educational funding, are ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dundonald, County Down
Dundonald () is a large settlement and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of Belfast and is a suburb of the city. It is home to Moat Park, the Ulster Hospital, and Dundonald International Ice Bowl. History The placename is first recorded as 'Dundouenald' in and later as 'Dundonnell'. It comes from Irish ''Dún Dónaill'', 'Donald’s fort', referring to the Norman fort built there when the area was part of the Earldom of Ulster. The forename Dónall is of Gaelic origin, thus "it is likely that the place was named from a pre-Norman fort, perhaps on the same site". It is one of the largest surviving mottes in Ireland, and stands in Moat Park ('moat' being a corruption of 'motte'). St. Elizabeth's Church is located beside the moat, with the Cleland Mausoleum in the adjacent graveyard. Dundonald acquired rail links to Belfast and Newtownards in 1850, Downpatrick in 1859 and Newcastle in 1869. The town was located on the once extensive Belfast and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fly Half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players". The scrum (a contest used to restart play) must consist of eight players from each team: the "front row" (two props – a loosehead and tighthead – and a hooker), the "second row" (two locks), and a "back row" (two flankers and a number 8). The players outside the scrum are called "the backs": scrum-half, fly-half, inside centre, outside centre, two wings, and a fullback. Forwards compete for the ball in scrums and line-outs and are generally bigger and stronger than the backs. Props push in the scrums, while the hooker trie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
David Humphreys (rugby Union)
David Humphreys MBE (born 10 September 1971) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played 72 times for Ireland, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for London Irish and Ulster, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the 2005–06 Celtic League with the latter. Since retiring as a player he has served as director of rugby for Ulster and Gloucester, as a performance consultant with the Georgian Rugby Union, and Director of Performance Operations with the England and Wales Cricket Board. Since June 2024 he has been Performance Director of the IRFU. Playing career Early career Humphreys started playing rugby while at Ballymena Academy,Jonathan Bradley, ''The Last Amateurs: The Incredible Story of Ulster Rugby's 1999 European Champions'', The Blackstaff Press, 2018 and represented Ireland Schools, captaining them to the Triple Crown in 1990. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on the same site, which opened in 2010. The stadium took its name from the adjacent street, Lansdowne Road. Location The stadium was situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the city's Dublin 4 area. The stadium had convenient public transport links as the Lansdowne Road station of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail system is adjacent to the site and passed directly underneath the West Stand. The stadium was named after the nearby road, which in turn was named after William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, William Petty-FitzMaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. The Marquis was also the Earl of Shelburne, and nearby Shelbourne Road is also named after him. Uses The stadium had a total capacity of 49,250, with 25,000 seats. However, compe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Clontarf RFC
Clontarf Football Club is an Irish Rugby union club based in Clontarf, Dublin. The club play in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History Origins and early history Clontarf Football Club currently play at Castle Avenue, where they moved to in 1896. The club gets its mascot from the meaning of Clontarf, which translates as "meadow of the bull". The red and blue colors are used by most sporting clubs in the area. The club was formed before the establishment of the Irish Rugby Football Union. Separate and shared facilities Since 1896, the grounds at Castle Avenue have been shared with Clontarf Cricket Club. Until 1947, both games were played on the same ground, and the wicket was fenced off in the winter. In 1982, following a fire which destroyed the bar and lounge, an agreement was reached between both clubs to go their separate ways. Subsequently, each club was provided with separate premises and the use of a common main bar and hall for each club's season. Playing h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Allied Irish Banks
Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four commercial banks in the Republic of Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance products such as home, travel and car. It offers life insurance, life assurance and pensions through its tied agency with Irish Life Assurance plc. In December 2010 the Irish government took a majority stake in the bank, which eventually grew to 99.8%. AIB's shares are currently traded on the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, but its shares were delisted from these exchanges between 2011 and 2017, following its effective nationalisation. The remainder of its publicly traded shares were listed on the Enterprise Securities Market of the Irish Stock Exchange until 23 June 2017. AIB also owns Allied Irish Bank (GB) in Great Britain and AIB (NI) in Northern Ireland. In November 2010, it sold its 22.5% stake i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ballymena RFC
Ballymena Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, playing in 2024–25 All-Ireland League (rugby union)#Division 2A, Division 2A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. It is affiliated to the Ulster Rugby, Ulster branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The club fields five adult teams and an under-20s team. In youth rugby, there are under-18s, under-16s and under-14s teams. Formation Ballymena RFC was first affiliated to the Northern Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1887, but the Club as we know it today, began after the First World War, in 1922, and entered the Junior League in the 1923–24 season, playing their games in the local Demesne. Within the next 10 years, they twice won both the Provincial Towns· Cup and the Junior Challenge Cup, and even competed, albeit with little success, in the Senior Challenge Cup. The Post War Era at the end of the Second World War, the Club reformed, and were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
St Helens Rugby And Cricket Ground
St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, commonly known simply as St Helens Ground, is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the home ground of Swansea RFC and was Swansea Cricket Club's home until 2025. In rugby union, St Helen's was the venue for the first ever home match of the Wales national team in 1882. It continued to be used regularly by Wales, often for the Five Nations Championship, until 1954, but has staged only one full international since, in 1997. More recently, the ground has been used by the Wales women's team. Glamorgan County Cricket Club regularly used St Helen's as an outground from 1921 to 2019. The ground has staged two One Day Internationals: England against New Zealand in 1973, and a 1983 World Cup match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. St. Helen's was the location of Sir Garfield Sobers's six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket, the max ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History The club was founded in 1872 as an association football team, switching to the rugby code in 1874, and in 1881 it became one of the eleven founder clubs of the Welsh Rugby Union.Smith (1980), pg 41. In the early twentieth century Swansea RFC was an extremely successful club. For four consecutive seasons Swansea were the unofficial Welsh champions from the 1898–99 season through to 1901/02, coinciding with the heyday of Swansea's first star player Billy Bancroft. Under the captaincy of Frank Gordon the team would later go on a 22-month unbeaten run, from December 1903 through to October 1905. During this period Swansea appeared to be under-represented at international level. Gordon himself went uncapped throughout his entire career, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Pro14
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries. The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the French Top 14), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23 South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions. Name The tournament has had a number of names as it has grown, bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Triple Crown (rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the " Home Nations" – i.e. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship. If any one of these teams defeat all three other teams, they win the Triple Crown. The Six Nations Championship also includes France and Italy, but their involvement in the tournament has no influence on the result of the Triple Crown, although it means that the winners of the Triple Crown are not necessarily the winners of the Championship as a whole. England won the first Triple Crown – although the phrase was not in use at the time – in the inaugural 1883 series of the original rugby union Home Nations Championship. The latest winners of the Triple Crown are Ireland, who won it by beating Wales at the Principality Stadium in the 2025 Six Nations Championship. Traditionally the Triple Crown was an informal honour with no trophy associated with it. However a trophy now exis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
